Start with a Blank Slate

Article Type: Quick and Dirty

Pick a spot on a white wall. Stare at it. Let your mind go
completely blank. Think about absolutely nothing, let all of your worries and
concerns simply vanish. You are getting very sleepy. Now, when we snap our
fingers, you will awake, and when you hear this bell, you will begin dancing
the samba and will have an irresistible urge to eat a Pringle.

Okay, so you don’t have to let your mind go that blank. But when it comes to
narrowing down your list of schools, it does
help to start fairly fresh. Throw away those preconceived notions. Don’t worry
about where your great grand-pappy went to college. (That placed closed down 35
years ago anyway.)

There are 4,500 colleges and universities in the U.S. If each of those colleges were
a song, you would need about 30 gigs to store them. (And if you don’t go to college, you’ll need about
30 gigs just to make rent.) You know how hard it is deciding what song you’re
going to listen to for the next four minutes, and now your task is to decide
what school you want to attend for the next four years. The last thing you want
to do is hit shuffle.

We want
you to end up at a school where you can be happy and successful. Because you’re
so much nicer to be around when you’re happy.

To accomplish
that feat, we propose that you enter into this process like a naked babe in the
woods. Not actually naked, just with an open mind. Let’s keep this PG, people.

Especially if you're an international
student applying to a college in the states, make sure you do thorough research
of potential schools. It’s possible your high school counselors doesn’t know a
ton about out-of-country schools and, trust us, there are many more schools
than the famous Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Emerson. Or, “HYPE,” as we like
to call them collectively. (Okay, so Emerson kinda snuck in there, but we
needed it to make the acronym work. Sue us.)

But
here’s the rub: if you have already decided exactly where you want to go, one
of two things is true:

1.
You have gone through the entire process with Shmoop. In this case,
congratulations, but you don’t need to be reading this page. You’re ready to
start Applying.
Jump out of the nest, little bird, and fly like the wind.

2.
You are blindly attached to a school because:

1.
You like the name

2.
You have seen how awesome their basketball players can dunk

3.
Your mom told you to go there

4.
It’s been your dream school since you were five

…or
some other silly reason.

Wanna
hear a better idea? Erase every school name from your brain. Really get in
there and scrub that puppy clean.

Let
your needs and wants — with the help of a College Search Engine — generate a
list of schools that matches those parameters. Then… guess what? If the school
you were originally drawn to pops up on that list, end of story. You belong
there.

But
if that school doesn’t make an appearance… let it go.

Instead,
check out the schools that do pop up.
You might find a school that is perfect for you. And not just perfect for… your
mom.